Reading, PA – Albright College’s second annual Spancake Lecture on Political Discourse in America will feature Daniel Gillion, Ph.D., on the topic of “Governing with Words: The Political Dialogue on Race, Public Policy and Inequality in America,” Oct. 24, at 4:30 p.m., in Albright’s McMillan Student Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Gillion is the Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt presidential associate professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania. His latest book, “Governing with Words: The Political Dialogue on Race, Public Policy, and Inequality in America” argues that while addressing racial and ethnic inequality continues to be a tug-of-war in the nation, race-conscious discussions can shape societal and cultural norms to improve the lives of racial and ethnic minorities — illustrating that words can be powerful tools for combating racial inequality in America.

Funded by Jenny ’71 and Steven Spancake, and coordinated by Albright’s Department of Political Science, Albright’s annual Spancake Lecture on Political Discourse in America aims to bring prominent speakers to Albright, representing a range of perspectives while encouraging dialogue on some of the most pressing and controversial issues facing the nation.

“When we saw that Dr. Gillion’s latest work not only directly studied political discourse, but also inequality, we thought that his scholarship would be an excellent fit for the nature of the lecture, and also, an important topic for our students,” said Michael Armato, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science at Albright. “Dr. Gillion’s work illustrates that words have a policy impact that touch the lives of citizens, especially those who face long-standing, structural discrimination.”